Elle's New England Kitchen

If this keeps up, you'll soon be reading Elle's New Chicken Kitchen. That's a mouthful. All chicken, all day! A birthday? Chicken! Special holiday? Chicken!

That doesn't sound all that great, does it? No. So my next post will be cupcakes. But until then, it's chicken!! I just looked, and four of my last twelve posts have been chicken ones. This makes five.
Ah, well. Hopefully you'll all forgive my extreme chickeneyness. (Yep--that's a word. That I just made up.)

This one is courtesy of Saveur. You know how you get little bonus gifts when you subscribe? Well they sent me two little Italian cookbooks when I first subscribed a few years back. I bookmarked a lot of the recipes, and then...someone (ok, me!)...immediately lost the books. I know, right? How can you lose them so quickly? I have no clue. Guess I'm just really good that way.

So fast forward a couple of years--we were moving. I assumed I'd find them then.

No.

Oooooh. Would I find them while unpacking? *fingers crossed!*

No.

Time warp. TWO years later (last week). My daughter is moving stuff around and picks up an old cooking magazine of mine. Because, you know, we all save those, don't we? Because we really will make all of those earmarked recipes. Eventually. Someday. Maybe.

My two missing babie...I mean--books fell out of the magazine. I almost heard the angels singing. Honest! There they were, right there on the floor. It was as if they were glowing, so happy to have been found, to once again see the light of day! (But what really happened was that they fell on the floor in a patch of afternoon sunlight. But hey, I have an active imagination, ok?)

Aha!!! Now I can make that Chicken Cacciatora I've been dreaming about! After all this time! Or... I could have googled, because, you know--it's right there, online. D'oh!



Hunter's Wife's Chicken (Pollo alla Cacciatora) Serves 4

It's Hunter's Style, but it's named in honor of the hunter's wife--the cacciatora, who traditionally cooked it on the eve of the hunt. So there, Hunter!

1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
2 medium yellow onions, peeled and chopped
2 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
1 3-lb. chicken, cut into 8 pieces
1 cup dry white wine 1
1 (28-oz). can peeled diced tomatoes, undrained
1 bay leaf
1 tsp. minced fresh rosemary leaves
1/4 cup minced fresh Italian parsley
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 cup chicken stock (see note!)
2-3 TBSP tomato paste (see note!)

Note: I didn't need the chicken stock, in fact, I opted to thicken it up by adding some tomato paste. But I'm leaving the stock in the ingredient list in case any of you find you do need it.

Heat oil in a large pan over medium-high heat.
Add onions and cook, stirring occasionally, for about 10 minutes.
Add garlic and cook, stirring, for about 2 minutes more.
Push onions to sides of pan, then add chicken and fry, turning pieces several times to brown evenly, about 4 minutes per side.
Add wine and let it evaporate, which should take about 5 minutes.
Add undrained tomatoes to the pan.
Stir in bay leaf, rosemary, and parsley (reserving a little for garnish) and season to taste with salt and pepper.
Reduce heat to low, partially cover, and simmer, for 30 minutes, adding chicken stock gradually (if needed!)as tomato juice evaporates.
Remove chicken from pan, and stir in tomato paste, increase heat to medium and add chicken back to pan.
Simmer 10-15 more minutes until sauce is thickened.
Remove bay leaf and garnish with reserved parsley. Serve with steamed potatoes, rice, or noodles.

To print this recipe, click here!


This dish is wonderful. It makes a thick, rich sauce that coats the chicken nicely. We'll definitely have it again. My husband said it reminds him of the cacciatora he had as a kid. Slightly different, but the closest so far. This is also a very hearty dinner, and I can see why a wife would have cooked it on the eve of the hunt--its good fuel for the hunter.


Don't forget to enter my one year blogiversary giveaway! Leave a comment to win an iPod Touch!

I love soup. L-O-V-E it. It's so comforting to have a big old pot of soup simmering away on the stove. It warms the home and smells so good, too. My mom made soup a lot. Not only because it's a good way to stretch your food budget, but it's a great way to get a healthy hot meal to your family with little effort. Pair it with a sandwich, crusty bread, or even a nice salad--and you've got a delicious lunch or dinner. And leftovers the next day? YUM.


When I heard the Danny at Gourmet Gastronomer was having a Soup-Off to follow up his Mac and Cheese-Off, I knew I'd enter that one, too.


This soup is a favorite. I've made it twice already and we love it! The second time, I added a splash of red wine and a little pesto to the simmering soup--my husband liked it better the first time, and preferred adding a dollop of pesto to his own bowl. Picky, picky...so--you can choose to add those or not, it's up to you.


For the tortellini, I used dry ones filled with pesto from Trader Joe's. I know Barilla has some, too. If you can't find dried ones, go ahead and use the fresh ones like Buitoni. Just add them close to the end of cooking, and remember they only need a few minutes to cook.

Chicken Pesto Tortellini Soup

1-2 TBSP olive oil
2 cups chopped onion
2 small-ish leeks, rinsed and sliced across, not into long strips
1-1/2 tsp Italian seasoning
4 cloves garlic, minced
28 oz can diced tomatoes, undrained
6 cups chicken broth
14 oz can chickpeas, undrained
2 boneless chicken breasts, sliced thinly
2 small zucchini, diced
1 1/2 cups frozen peas
3 cups dried tortellini (fresh is fine, but keep in mind those take less time to cook)
fresh cracked black pepper
pesto for dolloping individual servings
fresh shaved Parmesan




Heat the oil in a large soup pot over medium high heat. Add the onion, leek, garlic and Italian seasoning, and saute for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Add the tomatoes, broth, and chickpeas.
Bring to a boil and cover, then reduce heat and simmer for about 30 minutes.
Add the chicken, zucchini, and peas, bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 10 more minutes.
Stir in the tortellini and keep the soup at a low to medium boil for the required pasta cooking time, or until al dente.
Taste first, then season with pepper--I don't think you'll need salt, but add it if you need to. (Keep in mind--you'll be adding pesto and Parmesan to each serving.)
Top each serving with a dollop of pesto and some fresh shaved Parmesan.

To print this recipe, click here!

First up, the chicken. This recipe is my take on my good friend Molli's recipe. What could possibly be bad about chicken, pesto, tomatoes and mozzarella? Nothing! And this is another extremely easy one. How easy? It doesn't even have measurements. Just eyeball it and use as much or as little of something as you like. This is one of those meals that my husband ate with lots of approving noises, lol. That means he's really enjoying what he's eating!

Did I make my own pesto? No, though I do in the summertime. For this chilly New England girl, Trader Joe's is my wintertime pesto savior. Thank you, TJ's! I used fresh tomatoes, also from TJ's--but if you can't find any decent ones, go ahead and try canned. Then it really becomes a pantry dinner! I usually keep shredded cheese in the freezer, too, so if you do that--along with a jar of good pesto, a can of diced tomatoes, and add a pack of boneless chicken, you can have this one on the table with little effort.



Here's the recipe, and like I said--there are no exact measurements. Use as much breadcrumbs and parmesan cheese as you need to coat your chicken. Same with tomatoes, pesto and cheese--use your own judgement.

Caprese Chicken

To print this recipe, click here!

boneless chicken breasts, filleted
kosher salt & fresh cracked pepper
garlic powder
onion powder
a couple of beaten eggs
breadcrumbs
grated parm (some to mix with breadcrumbs, some to sprinkle on chicken)
pesto
sliced tomatoes (or drained canned, diced tomatoes if that's what you've got)
shredded mozzarella




Heat oven to 375.
Fillet the chicken breasts if you haven't already. They cook faster, and stay juicier. Trust me on this.
Sprinkle them generously with the salt, pepper, onion and garlic powders.
In a plate, mix some grated parm in with the breadcrumbs.
Dip the chicken in beaten egg, then in breadcrumbs.
Heat an oven safe skillet over medium-med. high heat, then add some oil to the pan-about 2-3 tbsp.
When the oil is hot, add the chicken.
Brown 3-4 minutes per side, depending on thickness.
Remove pan from heat, and then slather the tops of each breast (the chicken ones, not yours, lol)
with some pesto--as much as you like.
Top each one with sliced tomato, then sprinkle each with parmesan cheese and shredded mozzarella.
Place the skillet in the oven and bake for about 3-4 minutes, then if you want some color on your cheese, turn the broiler on-broil for 2-3 minutes. Watch it carefully, though!





Look at the gorgeous Boule Bread from Artisan Bread in 5 Minutes a Day! I can't remember the last cookbook I've gotten so much use out of, seriously.
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Random Thursday Thoughts:

Twitter.

It's so much fun! I didn't think I'd get into it at first, but you know what? It's addictive. And I've made some good friends using it, too! It's a great way to network and get to know people with the same interests as you. If you want to follow me, click here: @elleskitchen

Hello to all my Tweeps!

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The mailman.

Whatever happened to that old saying? "Neither wind, nor rain, nor sleet, nor snow..." Now, I know how hard letter carriers work. And yeah, they do have to be out in some really crappy weather. But what do you do when your letter carrier...sucks? (I know, not ALL letter carriers suck, so no hate mail, please!) We had a great mail carrier at our previous house, but the one we got when we moved? ugh. He's an old, crusty dude. Grumpy, too. We STILL get mail from people that lived here three families ago! No matter how many times we tell him they don't live here and haven't for years. We get the neighbor's mail, they get ours, sometimes we get none at all, and then the next day, get two days worth. sigh. I think every single person on this street has called and filed complaints about him. So we have to put up with all of his issues, but God forbid there's 5" of snow at the street end (thanks to that last pass from the plow) of an otherwise clear front walk and porch. We get no mail that day, and a note the next day. "Not delivered because not shoveled." freaking grrrrr!
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Glad I got that off my chest. Thanks for listening! :)

Happy Sunday, everyone! Today I'm sharing a recipe I've been fooling around with, and I think I've finally gotten it right.

Herbes de Provence is featured in this dish--and it's one of my favorite herb blends to use. If you've never tried it, you should! The name of the dish was chosen by my friend, Jane. St. Rémy is a town located in Provence, and from what I've seen online, it's a gorgeous place! Someday, right?

So this recipe came to be from a pack of boneless chicken, and a trip through my pantry. We've got canned tomatoes, Herbes de Provence, some shallots and garlic, and the ever important red wine. mmmm. And it's really easy, too!




Chicken St. Rémy

To print this recipe, click here!

2 boneless chicken breasts, filleted (about 1 1/2 lbs total)
salt
pepper
dried Herbes de Provence, for sprinkling over the chicken
2 good sized shallots, finely diced
4 cloves of garlic, chopped
1/4-1/2 cup red wine, for deglazing pan
1 cup chicken broth
14 oz can diced tomatoes, undrained
1/2 tsp dried Herbes de Provence
1/2 tsp dried basil
salt and pepper, to taste




Sprinkle both sides of filleted chicken breasts with salt and pepper, and Herbes de Provence. How much? Not too much, but don't be stingy, either.
Heat a pan over medium high heat, and add a couple tablespoons of olive oil.
Saute each piece of chicken for 2-4 minutes per side, depending on thickness. You're not cooking them fully now, just getting some nice color on them.
Remove to a plate.
Add shallots and garlic to the pan, deglaze with the wine, and saute for about 5 minutes.
Add broth, tomatoes, the 1/2 tsp Herbes de Provence and basil.
Bring to a boil, add the chicken and any accumulated juices back to the pan.
Cover and simmer for 10 minutes, or until the chicken is done.
Serve chicken with tomatoes and sauce.




The potatoes in the photos are amazingly simple, and totally addictive. Take your favorite potatoes, scrubbed clean. Partially bake them in the microwave--but be sure to poke them with a fork so they don't explode first! Give them a few minutes in there, then cut them into roughly equal size. Heat some oil in a pan, add your potatoes and whatever seasonings you like-salt and pepper, in this case a little Herbes de Provence. Really, whatever you like. Get them nice and brown and crunchy and that's it. So easy!



And now for the mystery. Disappearing flatware. Does this happen to you guys? I don't know how in the heck it happens! Sometimes it's forks, other times it's spoons or knives. At this moment, it happens to be forks. WTF (what the fork)? We had a lot, now I need to go out and buy some. And also 1/4 cup measuring cups. I have 3 sets of measuring cups, and each one is missing the 1/4 cup. huh???


It's like socks in the dryer. I just don't get it. And...I don't like it. ;)

I have had this recipe bookmarked since last October. I'm really quick to getting around to doing things, right? But Toontz at Okara Mountain does a Triple Dog Dare Challenge every month, where she dares you to try something new. June was fruit and July was vegetables. This one immediately came to mind because I had never cooked with tomatillos before--plus, I had made it early in the month and had the photos uploaded already--perfect!

Also, on a more serious note, this recipe is from Sher at What Did You Eat? who as a lot of you may know, passed away suddenly on July 20th. I didn't know her, but I did read her blog often--she posted such wonderful recipes. She will be missed in the blogging world.

So, about the recipe. Yeah, I know, it's summer...why is Elle making stew again? I dunno. Because the tomatillos were so cute and calling out to me at the store? And I'm so glad I made this! It's so hearty and satisfying. I served it with cornbread, like I would with chili--this reminds me of chili, only it's lighter, I suppose? No beans, but I'm sure they'd be good in here if you wanted to add some. I did think it was a little light on the spices, so I added some of the trusty taco seasoning that I always have on hand. This made it just right to me. Feel free to adjust as you wish. I followed the recipe pretty much as she has it, using boneless, skinless chicken thighs. It's a very versatile recipe, though--it's originally made with pork, as posted on Food & Wine. (I seriously hope they don't have a problem with recipe modifications. hahaha!)



You can find this recipe on Sher's blog. Please visit and check out her recipes, there are so many delicious ones to choose from.



The cornbread is one from my files called Molasses Corn Bread. I don't remember where it's from, but if any of you know, let me know so I can give credit, please. It's one of my favorites! It's really moist, and sweeter than regular cornbread. I can't help it, I'm a Northern girl and just can't get into that very dry, barely sweet cornbread. I know it holds a special place in the hearts of some of you, and that's great! Traditions are a wonderful thing. But my tradition is moist, sweet cornbread.

Here is the recipe, and it's so easy to make. It would make great muffins, too.

Molasses Corn Bread

1- 1/2 cups yellow cornmeal
1/2 cup whole wheat flour, or all purpose flour
1 Tbs baking powder
2 Tbs brown sugar
1/4 tsp salt
1- 3/4 cups buttermilk
1 egg, beaten
3 Tbs canola oil
5 Tbs molasses



Heat the oven to 425 degrees. Grease an 8-inch square pan.
Combine the dry ingredients in a mixing bowl.
Pour the buttermilk into a 4-cup measuring cup or bowl.
Add all the wet stuff and stir to completely combine.
Pour the wet stuff into the dry stuff and stir until thoroughly blended.
Pour the batter into the pan.
Bake 15 to 20 minutes until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
Serve warm and slathered with butter. yum.



I hope you give this a try! But if you want to wait till it's cooler outside, that's ok, too. This would be perfect game food! And from the countdown in my sidebar, I see that at this moment, opening day for the NFL is 35 days, 11 hours, 24 minutes and 55 seconds away. So start planning now! Don't get caught without game food, folks! (Can you tell I'm a football fan? I CAN'T WAIT!!!)

photo from stock.xchng

If you click here, you'll see that cook's Illustrated (aka America's Test Kitchen, Cook's Country) have decided it's not ok for us bloggers to post their recipes. Even if they can't copyright a list of ingredients, and you write it all up in your own words. Especially if you make modifications to the recipe! God forbid you try to mess with one of their "perfect" recipes! They test each one 100 times and "don't allow modifications." WTFever.

From what I've seen, most cookbook authors are cool with bloggers making and blogging about their recipes. They embrace it, even! I have bought at least 3 cookbooks lately because you guys blog about them, and I think "Hey, I want more--I'm getting the book!" I know others that have done the same thing.

Cook's Illustrated is like Fight Club, but for recipes, I guess. And I also guess they like PR--who doesn't? But guess what? People are talking about them today, except they don't have anything good to say. That's what happens when you have a "team" that scours blogs and makes offending bloggers remove their recipes.

So I'm being proactive and removing this one. If any of you have bookmarked it, please email me and I'll send it to you. Because that's not intent to distribute publicly. It's one friend emailing another friend.

And I'm not doing any more of their recipes. Or on second thought--maybe I will, with modifications, and not name them as a source, hehe. Because they don't want any good things said about them. And you know, it's Fight...I mean Recipe Club and all. shhhh.....





Easy. Faster than ordering take out. Better for you than greasy take out. Full of flavor.
Did I get you hooked in yet? No? Then take a look at this:



This one is delicious, a bit spicy (which you can control), and addictive. Like "keep picking from the pan" addictive. I'm not saying that I did that, of course. My husband did. :) Seriously! But I would have, if I wasn't already full.

Served simply with brown rice on the side. And yeah, yeah, I know--there's no green veggie on that plate. So sue me, hehe. But hopefully anyone upset that there's no green will forgive me when they taste this. It's just packed with flavor! There's fresh OJ, which isn't completely necessary, I suppose, but it's so good in this. Also some orange zest and hoisin sauce. That's the sauce for this dish--just three things! Did I mention quick and easy?

No, I'm not a freaky super-juicer. But my KitchenAid food processor with juicing attachment is. There is NO juice left in those!

It's hot. And humid. A one-two punch of icky weather here in New England. ugh. It's not usually this hot around here for early June. Next week it'll be much more seasonal, with temps in the 70's to low 80's. This sticky weather is more common in July and August and sometimes, September. Anyway, I'm here in the AC--not cooking, having a glass of this, (which I urge ALL of you to try--it's so refreshing!) and looking back on what we had last week.

One of those dishes was Sesame Chicken and Noodles, from the folks at Cooking Light. This is a delicious dinner, and very quick to get on the table. The most time consuming part is making the sauce, and that takes less than 5 minutes. It'll be on the table and being devoured faster than you could get takeout!

I don't know about you guys, but I love good leftovers for lunch the next day. Love them. So when I make this, I double up the pasta and the sauce ingredients. You may need to add a little olive oil or a touch of butter when reheating it--you know how pasta absorbs sauce when it gets cool and sits in the fridge. But it's worth it! This makes great leftovers. I'll give you the recipe as I have it in my files, but just remember that I double the sauce ingredients and use a whole box of pasta instead of 8 oz. You can also add more chicken. Oh, I also think a touch of sesame oil would be really good in the sauce. ADDING: Made this again, and did add 2 tsp of sesame oil to the sauce. Nice addition! I also added some chopped peanuts over the top. Also very nice!


Sesame Chicken and Noodles

8 oz uncooked spaghetti
1/2 cup chicken broth
1/4 cup natural creamy peanut butter
2 TB sesame seeds, divided
1 TB brown sugar
2 TB rice vinegar
2 TB low sodium soy sauce
1 TB fresh lime juice
2 tsp sesame oil (optional, but really good.)
1/2 tsp hot pepper sauce (I like Sriracha in this!)
2 TB canola oil
3/4 lb chicken tenders, cut in one inch pieces
1/4 tsp salt
2 cups matchstick carrots
1 1/2 cups sliced green onions
coarsely chopped peanuts for sprinkling over (optional, but again, so good!)


Directions

1. Cook pasta according to package directions, drain--reserving 2 TB cooking liquid.
2. Combine broth through hot sauce and mix in a small bowl.
3. Heat the oil in a large skillet over med-high heat.
4. Sprinkle the salt over the chicken and cook for 3 minutes.
5. Add carrots and green onions, cook for 2 more minutes.
6. Add sauce mixture to the pan.
7. Add reserved cooking liquid and pasta to the pan, and toss to coat.
8. Top with remaining sesame seeds and serve immediately/or garnish with chopped peanuts.

I'm going to submit this to Presto Pasta Nights, which I keep meaning to do! Kevin at Closet Cooking is the guest host this week.


Print me!

I'm always on the lookout for quick, easy ways to prepare chicken for dinner. We have boneless chicken breasts a lot, because they're just so versatile--there are so many different things you can do with them. And they cook up quickly, which always makes them more appealing.

This is a recipe that you can get on the table in about twenty minutes. If you've been paying attention, you know that I always fillet chicken breasts because they cook faster and don't have time to dry out. Unless you overcook them, and in that case, you've given them time to dry out. So resist the urge to overcook. Your family will thank you. ;) The chicken will thank you.

The pan sauce here is quick and easy, too! And versatile--you could add herbs to it if you wish. I would actually increase the amounts next time, because we like more sauce. it's up to you. I'll give you the measurements I used, but next time, I think I'd up the amounts by half.

Sauteed Chicken Breasts with Easy Pan Sauce

Serves 2

2 boneless chicken breasts, filleted
salt & pepper
flour to dredge the chicken in
1 TB butter
1 TB oil

Sauce:

1/2 cup chicken broth
1/2 cup white wine
1 tsp dijon mustard

Season each side of the chicken breasts with salt and pepper. Don't be sparse, season them well.
Dredge each piece in the flour, shaking the excess off.
Gather the ingredients for the sauce and have them ready to go.
Heat the pan over medium high heat, then add the butter and oil.
Add the chicken to the pan, and cook for about 4 minutes on one side, then 3-4 minutes on the second side, depending on thickness. (Obviously if they're thicker, they'll need a couple more minutes.) When nicely golden brown and no longer pink inside, remove to a plate to keep warm.

While the pan is still hot, add the sauce ingredients, scraping up the good bits of flavor on the bottom of the pan.
Reduce the liquid by about half, which should happen pretty quickly--about 2 minutes or so. Add 1 TB butter to finish the sauce.
Spoon over chicken and serve.


I'm going to read up on pan sauces and learn to make more. They can make an everyday meal into something special.

Oh, the salad is just mixed greens with baby spinach, broccoli slaw for crunch, tiny heirloom tomatoes, and english cucumber with kosher salt, pepper, balsamic vinegar and olive oil.

Do you guys have favorite recipes for quick pan sauces? If you do, what are they?

I don't like deep frying. It scares me. Like Pixie, I suffer from F.O.F., or Fear of Frying.
I'm afraid of burning myself or the food, or worse--my kitchen! I know, it's silly. I do fry egg rolls (will post about those sometime!), but only in a little oil. Deep frying with all of that oil is just something I'm not comfortable with.

This is only one reason why this recipe is so damn perfect. Need more? It's easy, cheap, and deeeliciously lip-smacking and finger-licking good! It's so funny...my husband doesn't just eat it, he inhales it! He gets so happy when he knows I'm making it, because it's one of his favorites.

I usually use chicken thighs for this, because we don't really like drumsticks very much. You could do breasts, too, if you like. I'm sure it's good with boneless, too, just watch cooking times. So the chicken marinates in a mixture of plain yogurt, Dijon mustard, hot sauce (like Tabasco or Frank's) and a bit of creole seasoning and salt. I like to let it soak in this mixture for at least 24 hours. If you've never tried chicken soaked in yogurt before, you're in for a real treat. It's moist, tender and juicy! And unlike liquidy marinades that get left behind when you take the chicken out for cooking, this yogurt one sticks to the chicken and you don't lose half the flavor.

This is adapted from The Working Family's Cookbook, by Irena Chalmers. And not only is it good hot, but ooooh, when it's cold? Coveted leftovers. And think "picnic basket food!" Pack some of this for your next picnic and you'll have Aunt Nancy knocking out Uncle Bob to get his piece of fried chicken. (Names changed to protect the innocent.) (Sorry, couldn't protect the chicken.) (Or Uncle Bob, for that matter. Aunt Nancy is one tough lady.)

Finger-Lickin' Oven Fried Chicken

2 (6 oz) containers plain lowfat yogurt (or Greek yogurt, if you can find it)
3 TBSP Dijon mustard
3/4 tsp Tabasco (or other hot sauce)
1/2 tsp salt
3 - 3 1/2 pounds chicken pieces, rinsed and patted dry
2 1/2 cups dry bread crumbs
1 1/2 tsp salt
1/2 - 3/4 tsp creole seasoning (plus a couple extra pinches for the marinade!) (see recipe for seasoning below)
2 Tbs olive oil

1. In a bowl, stir together yogurt, mustard, Tabasco, a few good pinches of creole seasoning, and salt. Put chicken in a large ziptop bag, add marinade, seal the bag and turn to coat chicken completely . Marinate for at least 6-8 hours, but overnight is better.
2. Line a large baking dish with sides with heavy duty foil. Spray lightly with oil spray. Heat oven to 400° (375° for boneless).
3. In a medium bowl, combine bread crumbs, the salt and creole seasoning.
4. Roll each piece of chicken in the crumb mixture.
5. Place chicken in prepared pan and drizzle with olive oil.
6. Bake 50 minutes to one hour (30-35 minutes for boneless) until golden brown and juices run clear.


Creole Seasoning

2- 1/2 Tbs paprika
2 Tbs salt
2 Tbs garlic powder
1 Tbs freshly ground black pepper
1 Tbs onion powder
1 Tbs cayenne
1 Tbs dried oregano
1 Tbs dried thyme

Mix and store in an airtight container.

Do you guys make grocery lists, or do you just have a general idea what you want to make and fly by the seats of your pants? I always have a list. I plan our weekly menus and head off to the store to restock and pick up whatever new goodies that intrigue me. Sometimes, I see something so interesting (which could sometimes translate to "on sale" hehe) that I'll pick it up and plan a meal around it. Good things can happen that way. Sometimes. ;)

This recipe for Thai Chicken Saute was a planned, on the list meal. But I decided to do it at the last minute. I had to head to the store, but I had no list made. Panic! So I quickly scanned my e mail inbox to see what interesting recipes I'd received in the past week. This wasn't one of them, but I was led to it by another, not very memorable one. No clue what it was. See? Uninteresting, it was. (I sound like Yoda saying that, don't I? hahaha!!) Let me take a minute and snap of my Yoda-like trance....

Ok! Anyway, I found this on MyRecipes.com, which includes recipes from Cooking Light, Southern Living, and Sunset, to name a few. This one is from Cooking Light, and you can see the original here.



It's so quick and easy to make! I love that. Who wouldn't? You can have this on the table in less time than it would take to get take out. It's delicious, too. I used brown rice and didn't use bottled minced garlic, because, eeeewww. It takes one minute to chop fresh garlic!

Tip: To get the smell of garlic off your hands, run your hands under cold tap water, no soap. And do it right after you handle the garlic, don't handle anything else before you rinse your hands. Works like a charm! Then you don't have to use bottled garlic, lol. (Tip from The Zuni Cafe Cookbook, by Judy Rodgers)

A word on the Sriracha in the recipe--it's SO delicious. But it's hot! I cut the amount of Sriracha in half, and it was just right. If you haven't seen it, it looks like this:
And it's gooood. It's hot, but it adds flavor, too, not just heat. I can get it in my regular grocery store, so I'm guessing it's not hard to find. You can read a little about it here. If you can't find it, use another hot sauce instead.

Thai Chicken Sauté

From Cooking Light


Ingredients

1 (3 1/2-ounce) bag boil-in-bag rice (I used regular brown rice)
1 1/2 pounds chicken breast tenders
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1 tablespoon fish sauce
4 teaspoons canola oil, divided
1 cup sliced onion
2 teaspoons bottled minced garlic (I used about 4 cloves garlic, minced)
1 teaspoon bottled ground fresh ginger (such as Spice World)
1/2 cup light coconut milk
2 tablespoons Sriracha (hot chile sauce, such as Huy Fong)
1 tablespoon sugar
1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
4 lime wedges
Preparation
Cook rice according to package directions, omitting salt and fat. Keep warm.

Toss chicken with cornstarch and fish sauce.
Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat.
Add chicken to pan; sauté 5 minutes.
Remove chicken from pan.
Heat remaining 1 teaspoon oil in pan.
Add onion, garlic, and ginger to pan; sauté 1 minute.
Return chicken to pan; cook 1 minute or until done.
Stir in coconut milk, Sriracha, sugar, and juice; cook 45 seconds or until thoroughly heated.
Sprinkle each serving with 1 1/2 teaspoons cilantro.
Serve chicken mixture over rice with lime wedges.

I cooked the onions for about 5 minutes, because my husband doesn't like crunchy onions in his cooked food. They've got to be tender, lol. But they were still good. I'm definitely making this one again! It's got three important things going for it--quick, easy and delicious.



Six Word Memoir

The Irreplaceable and Irresistible Pixie over at You Say Tomato, I Say Tomato tagged me for a Six Word memoir. It's basically just six words that describe yourself. She's such a sweetheart, that Pixie, and she has a fabulous blog, so please go check it out!

So, six words to describe me...

1) Loyal
2) Level headed
3) Sweet
4) Stubborn
5) Bratty
6) Funny

I'm sure my friends and family could all give you different words about me, but they're not writing this blog, I am! hahaha!

I LOVE Pixie's idea for tagging 6 more bloggers, so I'm copying her.


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Pixie says:

"Oh 'fortunate' selected Bloggers, it's really up to you if you wish to play along! I believe the entire purpose of this is to introduce bloggers to each other; to build the wonderful Food Community that exists. So feel free to write your memoir or not, the choice is entirely yours but honestly, I'd much rather prefer if you took just about 5 minutes to visit at least one of the mentioned blogs that you have yet been to, have a quick browse and say hello."
***********

So I'm going to tag six blogs that you may not have seen yet. Three of them I read regularly, and three I chose randomly from the Foodie Blogroll, and I'm going to add them to my reader. I hope that you guys that are reading this will check them out and leave them a nice comment. It's still so thrilling to me that you guys actually read my blog and leave nice comments! I'm continually amazed at how supportive the food blogging community is. I'm still so new to this, but everyone has been great, and it would be nice to look at some blogs we may not have seen yet.

Here are the rules:

1. Write your own six-word memoir.
2. Post it on your blog and include a visual illustration if you’d like.
3. Link to the person who tagged you in your post.
4. Tag five (umm or 6 or 7 or) more blogs with links.
5. Remember to leave a comment on the tagged blogs with an invitation to play.


I'm tagging:

Lauren at Parsnips Aplenty
Farida at Farida's Azerbaijani Cookbook
Lori at Made Healthier
Wendy at Home Sweet Home
Holly at Old Recipe Detective
Sarah at Homemade

So please go check them out and let's show them the same support that you all have given me. Thanks!


PS--I can't figure out why the bottom half of this post has gone all funky with the text. Please excuse it. Maybe Yoda typed it...

I really like Everyday Food. They have great ideas, and the recipes are quick to make and for the most part, very good. Their cookbook, Great Food Fast has tons of recipes in it, and most of them have photos. And we all know that photos of recipes aren't really necessary, but they're fun! Which is why so many of us read food blogs, right? Anyway, the book is arranged by season, which I think is good, because who wants hot beef stew in August, or a chilled summer salad when it's 50 below and blizzarding (is that even a word?) outside your door?

Today's dish is Tandoori Chicken with Yogurt Sauce. It's quick (but plan ahead, there is marinating time!), delicious, and mild enough for the kids. It's a great base recipe and just waiting to be tinkered with. I'm thinking that next time, I'll add some cumin and maybe even some coriander to the marinade. And cayenne would work well, too, but maybe not if you're serving it to your kids. I use Greek yogurt because I love it, but plain regular yogurt is fine, too. It makes the chicken very tender, just like soaking chicken in buttermilk is great before you fry it. And since it's a thick marinade and the spices are mixed right in, it sticks to the chicken and you don't leave half of it behind when you cook it.

The yogurt sauce is a fantastic accompaniment! It's got three ingredients, that's it. It couldn't be simpler. But a bit of advice--since it has grated apple in it, please make it at the last minute, so it's still pretty and white! When you take a bite of the chicken and the yogurt sauce together, oh...they're SO good with each other! Like peanut butter and chocolate, or strawberries and cream, or wings and hot sauce--they're two great things on their own, but put them together and they're a perfect match.

So here it is, adapted from Everyday Food. I made a few small changes--they use bone-in breasts, I like boneless thighs, and I double the marinade, which I've noted here in the recipe.

Tandoori Chicken with Yogurt Sauce

1 1/2 cups Greek yogurt, divided
4 garlic cloves, minced
2 teaspoon ground turmeric
2 teaspoon ground ginger
coarse salt and ground pepper
8 boneless, skinless thighs
2 Granny Smith apples
1 tablespoon chopped fresh cilantro

Preheat oven to 425°.
In a bowl or large ziptop bag, mix 1 cup of yogurt (save the rest for the yogurt sauce!), the garlic, turmeric, ginger and 3 tsp salt and 1/2 tsp pepper.

Why do I have 2% and 0% yogurt? I like to use the 0, my husband likes the 2. We compromise. Who knew that Greek yogurt was the secret to a happy marriage???


Add the chicken, making sure to coat it all evenly. Marinate for a couple hours or overnight. (You don't really need to a pic of the chicken marinating, right? Good, because I didn't take one, hehe.)

Transfer chicken to a rimmed baking sheet, lined with foil. Bake until it's 160 degrees or the juices are no longer pink, about 30 minutes. Make the sauce right before or right after you take the chicken out of the oven.

Peel and coarsely grate the apple into a bowl.
Add the remaining 1/2 cup yogurt and cilantro, mix well. Serve with the chicken.